Amal 5 Power football

THE RULES

• There are only five players on each side.
• The game is played on a much smaller pitch (typically about one third of the size). Due to the varying five-a-side venues there is no standard sized pitch or penalty area.
• The game can be played indoors, this becomes important because the ball will be able to rebound off the edges of the pitch (i.e. the walls).
• The duration of the game is typically between ten and twenty minutes each way although often there is no change of halves.
• The game can be played where by the ball is not allowed to go above head height (this rule is usually stipulated when playing indoors).
• The goal keeper is the only player allowed in to the penalty area.
• The goal keeper is only allowed to throw or kick the ball out (although lofted kicks are ussually not allowed).
• Where the ball is allowed to cross the line (i.e. we have no walls) a kick in is usually used instead of a throw in. This is where the ball is placed on the ground and kicked to a teammate instead of being thrown on.
• The game is sometimes refereed from the sidelines, that is there is no referee present on the pitch.
• A penalty occurs when a defending player enters their own area or the goalkeeper leaves his own area.
• There is no offside rule.
• When a goal is scored the match does not have to be restarted from the centre spot like association football. Instead the game can continue with posession returning to the goalkeeper who conceded the goal.

Apart from these differences the game is the same as that of association football (i.e. hand balls are not allowed, foul play is not allowed, the goalkeeper is not allowed to handle the ball outside the area etc.).

Where there is uncertainty within the rules (e.g. is there a no over head height rule?) I will use the following rules:

• The game is to be played indoors so the ball will be allowed to rebound off the walls and there will be no kick ins.
• A no over head height rule is to be enforced, a ball going over head height will result in a free kick from where the ball was initially kicked.
• The game will last fifteen minutes, there will be no change of halves.
• An on pitch referee is to be used.
• All freekicks are direct (i.e. it is possible to score directly from the freekick).
• The goalkeeper is only allowed to throw the ball out.
• When a goal has been scored the match will be restarted by giving the goalkeeper who has just conceeded the goal possession of the ball.

As its name suggests five-a-side football is a game of football played with only five players on each side on a scaled down football pitch. The five players usually consist of one defensive player, two midfield style players and one striker. The defender will predominately stay back (e.g. no further than the half way line) to provide some defense at all times. The midfield players are the real workers as they need to both defend and attack, roaming all over the pitch in the process. Finally the attacker will predominately stay up front (e.g. no further back than the half way line) to provide a constant outlet for attacks. Due to the smaller size of the pitch there is a lot more scope for players to perform different roles (i.e. defend in one move and attack in the other) however it is still best to think of a team in terms of the five players and their roles. With a smaller pitch and fewer players high scoring matches are relatively frequent because of the lack of numbers for a very organized defense and the close proximity of the goal. The game is essentially passing and dribbling based, the "long ball game" is not generally possible given the limited space and the frequent "no above head height" ruling.